Our first thought is sports. All sports have coaches. The coach is the he or she on the sideline, watching, reacting and guiding. They provide guidance and support, challenge you when you are not working hard enough and listen when you feel confused or doubtful.

They nurture and foster YOUR NATURAL SKILLS. Coaches are people who are assessing and observing your skills and providing you feedback on how to improve. They see and discover talents in people that even the people cannot see themselves. They make you practice. They help you reach your goals. They push your limits. Consider this, LIFE IS A SPORT.

There is some overlap between what a coach and a consultant provide, but the basic difference is the coach stays with the client to help implement the new skills, changes and goals, to make sure that they really happen. A well-trained coach is an expert in people and life/success dynamics. A coach is brought in to help reach business goals and/or provide support and advice on a one-on-one basis with individuals in a company.

Therapy

Coaching is not therapy. A therapist is trained and licensed to work with diagnosable psychological conditions. A coach is not. A coach and client typically focus on what the client wants to accomplish personally and/or business-wise looking forward over the next 6-12 months. Typically, an individual works with a therapist to resolve something that is causing pain from the past.

Mentoring

Mentoring is usually when a colleague of greater skill or experience transfers that knowledge or skill to a colleague of lesser skill or experience. Mentoring is normally not a formal process, unlike coaching which focuses on achieving specific goals in a specified timeline.

What is Life coaching?

Simply, life coaching is a tool that helps individuals move forward, create self-improvement, achieve their goals and positively change their lives! A certified life coach is skilled at getting the best from you, helping you discover what you really want, tapping into your own internal motivation, and empowering you to take action. They focus on where YOU want to go in your personal and professional life.

When you have a professionally trained life coach working with you, you have a trained support coach – someone who knows what to do, knows how to guide you – and stays with you, helping you get through obstacles, and reach your goals. Your life coach is a mentor, a guide, and a motivator – giving you feedback, encouragement, and non-stop support as you’re creating your DREAM LIFE.

Working with a trained Life coach is very different from talking to a friend. While the support of friends and family is vital in life, there are a number of problems that can arise from relying solely on our familial and social relationships for emotional or psychological support:

Our friends and family know us, and – as a result – will not always be honest about their opinions, cannot always separate their own feelings and agendas from our personal situation, and cannot be totally objective about their perspectives. Even if they are trained professional they can’t offer the same kind of objective care that a neutral, third party can.

Working with a trained Life coach is a totally confidential experience, which tends to increase radical honesty. This is a good thing! It paves the way for a more thorough exploration of one’s thoughts and feelings.

Every coaching session is focused directly on you – your needs, your goals, your wins, your aspirations, and your life. You set the agenda based on what is most important to you. In each sessions you’ll plan and review, together, each of your “focus goals” and action areas. The Life coach will ask questions to help you access your best emotions, skills and knowledge while providing support, order, energy, positivity, insight, focus and direction. Most coaches provide assessment tools to better understand the client’s life or business situation and their current needs

Between scheduled sessions, taking action on the goal/plan you created will help you take control of your life and begin to create a new, chosen direction for your life. Your life coach will also keep you accountable and make sure you are on course to completing your goals.

Coaching sessions are conducted over the phone, in person or via Skype and will normally stand at about 45 minutes to 1 hour between 3-4 Times a month based on specific needs.

Between scheduled sessions, you have continued access to your coach via email or brief phone calls if you have questions, need support or have fantastic news to share.

Coaching is very effective over the phone because there are fewer distractions for either party; the client is likely to share more information sooner because of the anonymity factor. A professional coach is trained to listen well, hearing all the nuances of what is being said (and what is not). Coaching over the phone is the most convenient method of meeting.

If you are seeing measurable quality-of-life improvement, achieving your outcomes more quickly and/or having significant internal growth, coaching is working. If not, you may need to work with a different coach.

Yes. An effective life coach for one person may not be a good match for another. Personal chemistry is important. I offer everyone an introduction coaching session, so you can see for yourself what coaching is all about and find out if you feel comfortable enough to develop the trust and confidence necessary for breakthrough coaching.